Gingrich budges exactly one-half inch on Romney

At long last Newt Gingrich has acknowledged that there's no way he can win the nominationMitt Romney will likely be the Republican nominee for president.

The former House speaker told Milwaukee radio station WTMJ Friday he thinks Romney "is clearly the front-runner." Gingrich said Romney "will probably" get the 1,144 convention delegates he needs to win the nomination, but added that Romney still has to earn it.

We've come a long way since this exchange Gingrich had with ABC's Jake Tapper in December:

GINGRICH: “They are not going to be the nominee. I don’t have to go around and point out the inconsistencies of people who are not going to be the nominee. They are not going to be the nominee.”

TAPPER: “You are going to be the nominee?”

GINGRICH: “I’m going to be the nominee.”

[Time, Seattle Post-Intelligencer]